Invent
by ailaxolotl
Summary: "Asuna was sure of it now. The boy across the room was the same one she had played with as a child before her mother forbade them from meeting again. His name…it started with a K. Ki-something." super short Kirisuna victorian AU. Oneshot.


Ohhey guys I wrote a thing yay! This is just a oneshot; I'm not going to add any more-let the sleeping dog lie, right? :)

SAO and it's characters are NOT mine!

* * *

Asuna flicked her wrist and leveled the fan to her mouth, letting its tip rest on the divot of her upper lip, electing to ignore the far from subtle glares her father was sending her way. It wasn't her fault, after all. With as many suitors as she saw within a day—and there were many, between her 'ripe' age of seventeen and rather impressive dowry—it certainly couldn't be expected for her to remain patient and demure while a man as disgusting as Sugo leered down her bosom.

And so it was that he stormed out of the room with a red mark on his cheek that had nothing to do with his furious blush, and Asuna remained with a sore hand and slightly beaten fan; a trade that seemed quite fair in her mind. Her father, however, begged to differ.

"Please, Asuna, I beg of you. Just dance with one man tonight. Anyone will do. You're dirtying the Yuuki name—the Ayano daughter is already engaged, and you're five times the woman she will ever be. I won't stand for your unruly behavior much longer."

Asuna sighed. Well, there was definitely another hour left in this banquet yet, so she had time; of course, her father would argue that she should have already danced with four men by now at least.

Honestly, if his eyes could be any more irritating, she would grow a rash. Lightly fanning her face, Asuna allowed her eyes to roam across the room. She could always dance with Klein. He was a friend to the family and would fulfill her father's wishes; though, if she was to be honest with herself, not in the way he wished them. Egil was another decent option, but he seemed too absorbed in his glass of whiskey to dance. Another heavy sigh escaped from Asuna's lips. There was really no one else she knew, and she would rather die than dance with—wait.

That man—boy, really; he couldn't have been older that her—across the room. He looked familiar. Was he a servant? Possibly. His somewhat shabby attire certainly indicated a lack of wealth. Could he be…?

And he was. Asuna was sure of it now. The boy across the room was the same one she had played with as a child before her mother forbade them from meeting again. His name…it started with a K. Ki-something.

Kirito? That was the name she had called him as a child.

"Kirito!" Asuna exclaimed, loud enough to earn a disapproving look from her father along with several other guests within a three foot range.

She couldn't care less.

Clutching at the large expanse of her skirts, Asuna made her way across the room, muttering out a 'pardon me' every few seconds. Kirito wasn't aware of her presence until she tapped him lightly on the shoulder, slightly out of breath, a fine dust of blush layered across the apples of her cheeks.

"Ki…rito." Asuna managed to say, shoving past her embarrassment. "Kirito. Would you like to dance with me?"

* * *

Five minutes later, and she was still unsure who was blushing more—Kirito or herself. One hand lay softly on her waist, and the other lit a fire in her palm through her silken glove. "So, Kazuto," Asuna began, still mortified that she had first called him by such a childish nickname, "what do you plan on doing?"

"Well, being a servant, there's not much I can do, really. If I'm lucky, I can find an apprenticeship in town, I suppose."  
"You certainly don't sound too happy about the prospect. Here, let me rephrase: what do you want to do?"

Kazuto blinked, as if surprised by the question. "Oh. I suppose I'd like to invent things."

"And what would you invent, Mister Kazuto?" His answer was cut short by the sudden swell of applause as the orchestra finished their piece.

"Perhaps…" Kazuto began, taking a deep bow as Asuna dipped into a curtsy. "Perhaps a way to have made that dance last longer."

He grasped one of Asuna's hands in his own and lightly brushed his lips against the satin, setting her knuckles on fire and shooting sparks through her fingers. Then, like a work of magic, Asuna blinked, and he was gone.

What remained, however, was a small slip of paper he had shoved into her palm just before departing.

"Meet me by your estate's fountain, when the moon is directly above our heads."

Her father couldn't understand why his only daughter held such a secretive grin for the rest of the evening.


End file.
